Feds pledge $100 million to support health-care workers; will help rural areas with chronic shortages of them

"As health care workers face increased pandemic burnout, some states — particularly in underserved areas — have had challenges retaining existing staff and recruiting new clinicians. The Department of Health and Human Services is now committing $100 million through the American Rescue Plan to help solve the problem," Deepa Shivaram reports for NPR. "The funds, which are now open for applications until April 8, 2022, are eligible 'for state-run programs that support, recruit, and retain primary care clinicians who live and work in underserved communities,' HHS says. The department hopes that being able to retain health care workers in underserved areas will help improve health equity."

The funds will especially help in rural areas, which have had a hard time finding and retaining health-care workers for years. "Since the beginning of the pandemic, surveys have shown a huge increase in stress, burnout, anxiety and depression among health care workers, particularly in women and people of color," Shivaram reports. "Some medical workers have expressed that the exhaustion among staff is affecting patient care, as well."